JP6915978B2 - Media transfer device and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a medium transfer device and an image forming device, and more particularly to a medium transfer device provided with a direction changing means for changing a medium transfer direction and an image forming device provided with the medium transfer device.

Conventionally, an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a hard medium such as a card or a disk or a semi-hard medium is widely known. In this type of image forming apparatus, for example, an indirect printing method in which an image (mirror image) is formed on a transfer film using an ink ribbon and then the image formed on the transfer film is transferred to the surface of a medium, or an ink ribbon is used. A direct printing method is used in which an image is formed directly on a medium.

In such an image forming apparatus, in the image forming unit, for example, an image is generated on the medium by heating the thermal head via the ink ribbon according to the print data on the medium sandwiched between the platen roller and the thermal head. It is formed. Nowadays, color printing in which each image is superimposed with a plurality of colors of ink is widely used.

Some of such devices are provided with a direction changing means for changing the transport direction of the medium in order to have a compact device configuration. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of a rotating body (reversing units F, G) for rotating a card and a medium transporting device in which a sensor is arranged around the rotating body. In this technique, after the medium is conveyed into the rotating body (by detecting the medium with a sensor), the rotating body is rotated to change the conveying direction of the medium.

Further, Patent Document 2 also discloses a similar technique. Note that Patent Document 3 does not allow the front and back surfaces of the card to be inverted (rotated by 180 °) as in Patent Documents 1 and 2, but the direction can be changed so that the transport direction can be changed while the card is sandwiched. The means are disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-209909 (see FIG. 3, reference numerals F and G). JP-A-2015-153270 (see FIG. 1, reference numeral 40) JP-A-2008-162113 (see FIG. 10, reference numeral 60)

By the way, in the technique of Patent Document 1 (the same applies to Patent Document 2), when a medium (card) is conveyed, the transfer length is detected, and from the front end to the rear end of the medium detected by the detection result (transport length). When the length of is longer than a predetermined length, a process of uniformly ending with an error is used. At that time, the medium was sandwiched in the rotating body, and the operator had to remove the jammed medium in the rotating body.

The main reason for detecting the transport length of a medium is to detect double feed of the medium (a plurality of media are transported where one medium should be transported), but other than that, it is out of the standard. It also has the purpose of detecting the contamination of a medium of the same length. Further, the reason why the operator needs to remove the medium from the rotating body (for example, automatic ejection is not possible) is that when the transport length is smaller than the predetermined length, the end rotation locus of the medium sandwiched by the rotating body is the rotating body. This is because there is a risk of interfering with members (sensors, etc.) arranged in the vicinity and damaging the member or the medium itself.

In view of the above cases, it is an object of the present invention to provide a medium transfer device capable of improving operability when a jam occurs and an image forming device provided with the medium transfer device.

In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention is a medium body conveying device, a conveying means for conveying the medium, and direction changing means for changing the conveying direction of the medium, conveyed by said conveying means A detection means for detecting the transport length of the medium to be carried out and a control means for controlling each of the above means are provided, and the control means has a predetermined length L1 of the transport length detected by the detection means. If different, it is determined whether positionable said medium in an error discharge direction, when it is determined possible, characterized in that the medium to control the direction change means to be positioned in an error discharge direction.

Here, the detecting means detects the rear end of the medium conveyed by the conveying means by the first sensor arranged on the upstream side in the medium conveying direction of the direction changing means, and arranges it on the downstream side in the medium conveying direction of the direction changing means. The second sensor is configured to detect the transport length by detecting the tip of the medium transported by the transport means, and the control means has a predetermined length of the transport length detected by the detection means. If L1 is smaller than, it determines positionable media on the error ejection direction from the direction changing means. In this case, the control means determines that it can be positioned in the error discharge direction when the transport length is equal to or less than the predetermined length L2 (L2> L1), and when the transport length is larger than the length L2, an error occurs. It may be determined that the position cannot be positioned in the discharge direction.

Further, the detecting means is configured to detect the transport length by detecting the front end and the rear end of the medium transported by the transport means by the first sensor arranged on the upstream side in the medium transport direction of the direction changing means. , The control means determines whether the medium can be positioned in the error discharge direction from the direction changing means when the transport length detected by the detection means is larger than the predetermined length L1 , and the transport length is predetermined. When the length is L2 (L2> L1) or less, it is determined that the position can be positioned in the error discharge direction, and when the transport length is larger than the length L2, it is determined that the position cannot be positioned in the error discharge direction. good.

Further, the direction changing means is a rotating body that sandwiches and rotates the medium, and when the control means determines that it can be positioned in the error discharge direction, the center of the transport length is located at the center of rotation of the rotating body. after controlling the conveying means such that, that controls the rotary body so medium is rotated on the error discharge direction. Further, the direction changing means is a rotating body to rotate to clamp the medium, the control means, when it is determined that the non positioned on the error discharge direction, the direction changing means to medium without rotating the rotating body that controls the transport means to return the feed to the upstream side of the. Further, the control means may determine whether the medium can be rotated in at least one of the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction according to the transport length when the transport length is different from the length L1.

Further, in order to solve the above problems, the second aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus, which includes an image forming means for forming an image on the medium and a medium conveying device according to the first aspect. ..

According to the present invention, when the transport length is different from the length L1, it is determined whether the medium can be positioned in a direction in which the medium can be taken out from the direction changing means, and when it is determined that the medium can be taken out, the medium can be taken out. Since the direction changing means is controlled so as to be positioned in the correct direction, it is possible to obtain the effect that the operability at the time of jam occurrence can be improved.

FIG. 5 is an external view schematically showing a printing system including a printing apparatus according to an embodiment to which the present invention can be applied. It is a front view which shows the schematic structure of the printing apparatus. It is the upper appearance perspective view of the printing apparatus which shows the state which the medium supply part was removed. It is a layout drawing of the sensor arranged around the medium supply part and the rotation unit. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the distance from the rotation center of a rotation unit to a sensor. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the control part of a printing apparatus. It is a flowchart of the card issuing routine executed by the CPU of the microcomputer unit of the control part of a printing apparatus. It is a flowchart of the supply processing subroutine which shows a part of the card supply processing of a card issuance routine. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the state which the double feed card was carried to the rotation unit, (A) is the state which the double feed card was supplied to the rotation unit, (B) is the tip of the double feed card is a card. The state of reaching the sensor for detecting the tip, (C) indicates the state in which the center of the double feed card is located at the center of rotation of the rotating unit. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the state which the double feed card is ejected from a rotating unit, (A) is the state which rotated the rotating unit, and the double feed card is positioned in the error ejection direction, (B) is double feed. Indicates the state in which the card is ejected toward the reject stacker. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the rotatable direction of a rotating unit with respect to a double feed card, (A) is a state which can rotate in a clockwise direction and counterclockwise direction, (B) is a counterclockwise. A state in which the watch can rotate in the clockwise direction and a state in which the watch (C) cannot rotate are shown. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the state which the double feed card is sent back to the medium supply part side. It is a timing chart which shows the relationship between the output of the sensor which detects the front end of a card, the output of a sensor which detects the rear end of a card, and the drive pulse of the first card transfer motor. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the example of another embodiment which positions a double feed card in a take-out position, and (A) is the state which the double feed card is rotated in the error discharge direction and is cantilevered by a pair of rollers, ((A). B) shows a state in which the double feed card is rotated toward the non-contact IC recording unit and held by a pair of rollers cantilevered, and (C) shows a state in which the double feed card is held by a pair of transport rollers on the medium transport path.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention applied to a printing apparatus for printing and recording characters and images on a card and magnetically or electrically recording information on the card will be described.

1. 1. Configuration 1-1. System Configuration As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment constitutes a part of the printing system 100. That is, the printing system 100 is roughly classified into a higher-level device 101 (for example, a host computer such as a personal computer) and a printing device 1.

The printing device 1 is connected to the host device 101 via an interface (not shown), and print data, magnetic or electrical recording data, or the like is transmitted from the host device 101 to the printing device 1, and a recording operation or the like is performed. It is possible to instruct. The printing device 1 has an operation panel unit (operation display unit) 5 (see FIGS. 3 and 6), and in addition to a recording operation instruction from the host device 101, a recording operation instruction from the operation panel unit 5 is also possible. Is.

The host device 101 displays an image input device 104 such as a digital camera or a scanner, an input device 103 such as a keyboard or mouse for inputting commands and data to the host device 101, and data generated by the host device 101. A monitor 102 such as a liquid crystal display is connected.

1-2. Printing device 1-2-1. Mechanism unit As shown in FIG. 2, the printing apparatus 1 has a housing 2, and the housing 2 includes an information recording unit A, a printing unit B, a rotating unit F, and a decal mechanism G. .. Further, the printing apparatus 1 includes a medium supply unit C that can be mounted on the housing 2, a medium storage unit D, and a reject stacker 54 that is mounted on the side surface of the housing 2 opposite to the medium storage unit D. ..

(1) Information recording unit A
The information recording unit A includes a magnetic recording unit 24, a non-contact IC recording unit 23, and a contact IC recording unit 27. These three recording units are optional, and one or more recording units can be attached according to the user's wishes.

(2) Media supply unit C
The medium supply unit C is composed of a card cassette that aligns and accommodates a plurality of cards Ca in a standing posture (in this example, a posture tilted by 10 °). In this embodiment, a standard size card having a width of 85.6 mm and a length of 53.9 mm is used as the card Ca. As shown in FIG. 4, the idle roller 16 is arranged at the upper position on the card supply tip (front row) side of the card cassette, and the separation pad 17 is arranged at the bottom position. A plate-shaped elastic member such as rubber having a high coefficient of friction is used for the separation pad 17.

On the other hand, on the main body side of the printing device 1, a pickup roller 19 (see also FIG. 3) for feeding out the front row card Ca housed in the card cassette, and a position below the pickup roller 19 facing the separation pad 17 The idle roller 18 is arranged. Therefore, a separation opening 7 for separating the cards Ca one by one is formed between the idle roller 18 and the separation pad 17. The pickup roller 19 is rotated by the driving force of a pickup motor (stepping motor) (not shown). In the present embodiment, the opening width of the separation opening 7 can be adjusted according to the thickness of the card, and the separation pad 17 is on the idle roller 18 side when the operator rotates the rotating member arranged at the bottom of the card cassette. It is configured to be able to move forward and backward toward.

As shown in FIG. 3, the medium supply unit C is detachably configured in the cassette mounting area 68 of the housing 2. A rectangular opening (not shown) is formed on the front row side of the card cassette constituting the medium supply unit C. The presence / absence of the card Ca (whether or not the medium supply unit C is attached) can be grasped by inserting the sensor lever 69 on the main body side of the printing device 1 through this opening, contacting the card Ca, and pushing the sensor lever 69. can.

When the medium supply unit C (card cassette) is removed from the cassette mounting area 68, the opening / closing member 66 located below the medium supply unit C appears. The upper surface cover 67 of the opening / closing member 66 is a lid, and constitutes a partition wall (bottom wall) of the cassette mounting area 68. The opening / closing member 66 is attached to the housing 2 so as to be openable / closable, and its end portion in the longitudinal direction is rotatably supported by the housing 2. Further, a front door 12 that can be opened and closed is provided on the front side of the printing device 1.

The detailed configuration of the medium supply unit C is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-25511, and the detailed configuration of the opening / closing member 66 and the like on the printing device 1 side is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-123074. ..

As shown in FIG. 4, a transmission-integrated sensor SN24 having a light emitting element and a light receiving element is arranged on the downstream side of the separation opening 7 in the card transport direction, and a medium is supplied on the downstream side of the sensor SN 24 in the card transport direction. A cleaning roller 22 that cleans the card Ca that has been fed out from the portion C and conveys it further to the downstream side is arranged. The cleaning roller 22 has adhesiveness to remove dust and dirt adhering to the card Ca, and the cleaning roller 22 has even stronger adhesiveness to remove dust and dirt adhering to the cleaning roller 22. The adhesive roller 26 to be removed is in pressure contact.

(3) Rotating unit F
In a word, the rotation unit F has a function of changing the transport direction of the medium (in the present embodiment, a function of transporting the card Ca and holding the end of the card Ca to rotate the card Ca). However, it is specifically configured as follows. That is, the rotating unit F has a pair of disk-shaped rotating frames 50 (in FIG. 2, only the rotating frame 50 on the front side is shown. Hereinafter, if necessary, FIG. 2 shows. Distinguish between the front rotating frame 50 and the rear rotating frame 50 not shown in FIG. 2). The pair of rotating frames 50 are integrated by being fixed to a defining member (not shown) that defines the distance between them.

(3-1) Card Conveyance As shown in FIG. 4, the rotating unit F has rollers 20 and 21 composed of a driving roller and a driven roller. The demarcation member described above also functions as a guide member for guiding both sides (front and back surfaces) of the card Ca being conveyed between the rollers 20 and 21. The roller shafts (four in total) of the driving and driven rollers constituting the roller pairs 20 and 21 are rotatably supported by a pair of rotating frames 50. First gears (not shown) are fitted to the roller shafts of the drive rollers of the rollers 20 and 21 at the ends on the rear side rotating frame 50 side, respectively. A second gear (not shown) having a diameter larger than that of the first gear is meshed with each of these first gears. The gear shafts of the second gears are rotatably supported by the rear rotation frame 50, respectively.

Each second gear meshes with a single third gear (not shown) that has a smaller diameter than the second gear. The first to third gears are arranged inside (front side) of the back side rotating frame 50 substantially parallel to the back side rotating frame 50. The axis of the gear shaft of the third gear is positioned at the rotation center O (see FIG. 4) of the rotation unit F. The gear shaft of the third gear is rotatably supported by the rear rotating frame 50 by penetrating the rear rotating frame 50, and its tip is fixed to the housing 2 in a substantially vertical direction and is fixed to the rear surface. It is rotatably supported by a plate-shaped rear frame member (not shown) located on the outer side (rear side) of the rear rotating frame 50 in parallel with the side rotating frame 50.

A fourth gear (not shown) having a diameter larger than that of the third gear is fitted to the gear shaft of the third gear. The fourth gear is positioned on the back side frame member side between the back side rotating frame 50 and the back side frame member. A fifth gear (not shown) having a diameter smaller than that of the fourth gear is meshed with the fourth gear by being fitted to the motor shaft of the first card transfer motor (stepping motor capable of forward / reverse rotation, not shown). The fifth gear is also positioned on the back side frame member side between the back side rotating frame 50 and the back side frame member. That is, the first card transfer motor is attached to the back side of the back side frame member, the motor shaft of the first card transfer motor penetrates the back side frame member, and the fifth gear is fitted to the tip end portion thereof. There is.

At the upper part of the front side (rear side rotating frame 50 side) of the back side frame member, the card Ca sandwiched between the rollers 20 and 21 is jammed in the rotating unit F (the rotating unit F cannot rotate). In the event of a state), the jam release dial (not shown) for the operator to manually rotate the rollers 20 and 21 to eject the card Ca (release the jam) rotates on the back frame member. It is possible to support the axis. A gear is fitted to the shaft of the jam release dial, and when the operator manually turns the jam release dial, the gear is engaged with the gear and is pivotally supported by the rear frame member. By rotating the gear of No. 4 and rotating the rollers 20 and 21, the card Ca can be discharged to the outside of the rotation unit F.

The first card transfer motor also functions as a drive source for the cleaning roller 22. That is, the above-mentioned fourth gear supplies the rotational driving force of the first card transfer motor to the gear fitted to the roller shaft of the cleaning roller 22 via the plurality of gears. Therefore, the first card transfer motor drives the cleaning roller 22 and the roller pairs 20 and 21 to transfer the card Ca unwound from the medium supply unit C to the rotation unit F (received by the rotation unit F) (FIG. FIG. 4), which serves as a drive source for sending the card Ca from the rotation unit F toward any of the information recording unit A, the medium transport path P1, and the reject stacker 54.

(3-2) Rotation The front rotation frame 50 is fixed to the housing 2 in a substantially vertical direction, and is parallel to the front rotation frame 50 and further on the front side of the front rotation frame 50 (the front side of the paper in FIG. 2). ) Is rotatably supported by a plate-shaped front frame member (not shown, in FIG. 2, since the front rotating frame 50 is hidden, the front frame member is discarded). Has been done. That is, a support shaft is projected from the front side frame member toward the front side rotation frame 50, and a support protruding from the front side frame member is provided at the front side center portion of the front side rotation frame 50. A cylindrical bearing that receives the shaft is formed.

The axis of the support shaft is positioned at the rotation center O (see FIG. 4) of the rotation unit F, and is arranged so as to be coaxial with the axis of the gear shaft of the third gear described above. .. Therefore, in the rotating unit F, a pair of rotating frames 50 integrated with each other are pivotally supported by the front frame member by the support shaft, and the gear shaft of the third gear is attached to the back frame member on the back side. By being pivotally supported, it is configured to be rotatable.

Gears are formed at the center of the outer circumference of the front rotating frame 50 and the back rotating frame 50, respectively. A sixth gear having a diameter smaller than that of these gears is meshed with each of these gears. These sixth gears are fitted to a single gear shaft arranged below the front rotating frame 50 and the rear rotating frame 50, and the gear shafts of the sixth gear are the front frame member and the front frame member. It is rotatably supported by the back frame member.

The sixth gear, which meshes with the gear formed on the outer circumference of the rear rotating frame 50, is fitted to the motor shaft of the rotating motor (forward / reverse stepping motor, not shown). A seventh gear (not shown) with a smaller diameter is engaged. The rotary motor is mounted on the back side of the rear frame member below the mounting position of the first card transfer motor described above, and the motor shaft of the rotary motor penetrates the rear frame member and is at the tip thereof. The seventh gear is fitted. Therefore, by driving the rotation motor, the card Ca whose both ends are sandwiched between the roller pairs 20 and 21 in the rotation unit F rotates about the rotation center O (see also FIG. 5).

When the rotating unit F is rotated by the driving force of the rotating motor, the roller shafts of the driving and driven rollers constituting the roller pairs 20 and 21 are rotatably supported by the pair of rotating frames 50. Therefore, a phenomenon occurs in which these roller shafts also rotate (also referred to as co-rotation) according to the rotation of the pair of rotating frames 50. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when rotating the card Ca whose both ends are sandwiched between the roller pairs 20 and 21 in the rotating unit F, the rotation unit F is rotated (angle) by the amount of rotation (angle). By simultaneously driving the first card transfer motor so that the roller shaft of the drive roller rotates in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the rotation unit F, the rotation is prevented.

The front side rotating frame 50 is formed with first and second cylindrical members so as to project toward the front side. The first cylindrical member protrudes to the front side from the outer peripheral position of the front side rotating frame 50, and the second cylindrical member is concentric with the first cylindrical member (relative to the rotation center O). It protrudes to the front side from a position having a smaller diameter than the first cylindrical member. Notches are formed in the first and second cylindrical members, respectively, and the first and second first and second ones detect the phase of the rotating unit F (rotating frame 50) by detecting the notches. Phase sensors (not shown) are arranged respectively.

The notch of the first cylindrical member is formed corresponding to the position (direction) of the notch of the second cylindrical member and the direction of each sensor arranged around the rotating unit F, and the second The notch of the cylindrical member of the above is formed corresponding to the positions of the roller pairs 20 and 21 (roller shafts). The first phase sensor functions as an encoder when rotating the rotating unit F with a rotating motor, and the second phase sensor functions when positioning the rotating unit F (roller pairs 20, 21) in the initial position direction. Functions as an encoder.

(3-3) Relationship with sensors A plurality of sensors are arranged around the rotating unit F. As shown in FIG. 4, a sensor SN2 for detecting the rear end of the card Ca that is being fed and conveyed from the medium supply unit C is arranged between the cleaning roller 22 and the roller pair 20. A sensor SN26 for detecting the tip of the card Ca being transported is arranged on the downstream side in the card transport direction.

Further, as described above, a magnetic recording unit 24, a non-contact IC recording unit 23, and a contact IC recording unit 27 constituting the information recording unit A are arranged on the outer periphery of the rotation unit F (FIG. 2). reference). As shown in FIG. 4, a sensor SN4, a sensor SN5, and the above-mentioned sensor SN26 for detecting the end portion of the card Ca are arranged in these directions, respectively. Further, the sensor SN23 is arranged in the direction of the reject stacker 54 (error ejection direction), and the sensor SN3 is arranged in the direction of the printing unit B (transfer unit B2) (on the medium transport path P1 described later). .. Similar to the sensor SN24, the sensor uses a transmission-integrated sensor having a light emitting element and a light receiving element.

In the present embodiment, when the vertical line shown by the solid line in FIG. 4 is used as a reference (0 °), the rotation center O and the sensing positions of the sensor SN2 and the sensor SN24 (indicated by small circles in FIG. 4) are set. The angle of the line connecting the rotation center O is 10 °, the angle of the line connecting the rotation center O and the sensing position of the sensor SN23 is 125 °, and the angle of the line connecting the rotation center O and the sensing position of the sensor SN4 is 173 °. The angle of the line connecting the center O and the sensing position of the sensor SN26 is 190 °, the angle of the line connecting the rotation center O and the sensing position of the sensor SN3 is 270 °, and the angle of the line connecting the rotation center O and the sensing position of the sensor SN5 is 190 °. The angle of the connecting line is set to 305 °.

Therefore, the rotating unit F (roller pairs 20, 21) has a function of forming a medium transport path 65 (see FIG. 2) for transporting the card Ca in any of these directions, that is, a direction changing function. have. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the rotating unit F is positioned in the card receiving position direction, and the roller pairs 20 and 21 are in this state with the sensor SN24, the cleaning roller 22, the sensor SN2, and the sensor SN26 (sensing positions). ), The medium transport path 65 is positioned on a substantially linear medium transport path P0 (inclined by 10 ° with respect to the vertical line shown by the solid line in FIG. 4), and the medium transport path 65 constitutes a part of the medium transport path P0. A temperature sensor Th such as a thermistor that detects the environmental temperature (outside air temperature) is arranged on the outer periphery of the rotating unit F (see FIG. 2), and is based on the environmental temperature detected by the temperature sensor Th. The temperature of the heating elements such as the thermal head and the heat roller (described later) provided in the printing unit B is corrected.

(3-4) Distance between Rotation Center and Each Sensor FIG. 5 schematically shows the distance from the rotation center O of the rotation unit F to each sensor in the present embodiment. In FIG. 5, in order to facilitate grasping, one standard size card Ca is normally conveyed to the rotation unit F, the center of the card Ca is located at the rotation center O, and the end portion thereof is located. It shows a state of being sandwiched between rollers 20 and 21.

As described above, since the standard length of the card Ca is 85.6 mm, the distance from the rotation center O to the first locus Lc1 (rotation locus of the card end) is half of that, 42.8 mm, and the first locus Lc1. The distance Da between the second locus Lc2 and the second locus Lc2 (the circle in contact with the sensor frame of the SN4 centered on the rotation center O) is 7.0 mm, and the first locus Lc1 and the third locus Lc3 (centered on the rotation center O). The distance Db from the sensors SN2, SN3, and SN23 (the circle in contact with the sensor frame) is set to 8.0 mm, and the distance Dc between the first locus Lc1 and the sensor SN26 is set to 12.0 mm. When viewed from the rotation center O, the sensing positions of the sensors SN2 and SN26 are further 0.7 mm outside.

Therefore, the sensing position of the sensor SN2 that detects the rear end of the card Ca and the sensing position of the sensor SN26 that detects the tip of the card Ca are linear distances, which are the length of the card Ca (85.6 mm) + {distance Db (distance Db). 8 mm) + Distance from the sensor frame of the sensor SN2 to the sensing position (0.7 mm)} + {Distance Dc (12.0 mm) + Distance from the sensor frame of the sensor SN26 to the sensing position (0.7 mm)} = 107 mm is doing.

The sensing position of the sensor SN23 is 9.7 mm from the first locus Lc1, and the distance from the rotation center O is set to 52.5 mm. Further, although the sensor SN5 is discarded in FIG. 5 (see also FIG. 4), the sensor frame of the sensor SN5 is also in contact with the third locus Lc3 like the sensor frame of the sensor SN3.

(4) Printing unit B
The printing unit B forms an image such as a face photograph and character data on the front and back surfaces of the card Ca, and as shown in FIG. 2, a substantially horizontal medium for transporting the card Ca on the extension of the medium transport path 65. A transport path P1 is provided. Further, transfer rollers 29 and 30 for conveying the card Ca are arranged in the medium transfer path P1, and the transfer rollers 29 and 30 are not shown via gears and the like (not shown) for the second card transfer motor (forward and reverse). It is connected to a possible stepping motor).

The printing unit B has a film transport mechanism 10, and an image formed by superimposing each color image of the ink ribbon 41 on the image forming region of the transfer film 46 transported by the film transport mechanism 10 by the thermal head 40. A forming portion B1 and subsequently a transfer portion B2 for transferring an image formed on the transfer film 46 onto the surface of the card Ca on the medium transport path P1 by a heat roller 33 are provided.

Next, the details of the printing unit B will be described with reference to FIG. The transfer film 46 has a band shape having a width slightly larger than the width direction of the card Ca, and is an ink receiving layer that receives the ink of the ink ribbon 41, a transparent protective layer that protects the surface of the ink receiving layer, and ink by heating. The receiving layer and the protective layer are integrally laminated and formed in the order of a peeling layer and a base film (base film) for promoting peeling.

The transfer film 46 used in the present embodiment is formed so as to cross the width direction (main scanning direction of the thermal head 40) intersecting the printing direction (sub-scanning direction of the thermal head 40), and the image formation start position is set. Marks for setting are formed at regular intervals, and an image forming region is formed between these marks.

The transfer film 46 is wound or unwound on the supply roll 47 and the take-up roll 48 in the transfer film cassette by driving the motors Mr2 and Mr4, respectively. That is, in the transfer film cassette, the supply spool 47A is arranged at the center of the supply roll 47, and the take-up spool 48A is arranged at the center of the take-up roll 48. The rotational driving force is transmitted, and the rotational driving force of the motor Mr4 is transmitted to the take-up spool 48A via a gear (not shown). A DC motor capable of forward and reverse rotation is used for the motor Mr2 and the motor Mr4.

In the present embodiment, the transfer film 46 before the transfer treatment is wound around the supply spool 47A, and the used transfer film 46 (the portion transferred by the transfer unit B2) is wound around the take-up spool 48A. Has been done. Therefore, when performing image forming processing and transfer processing on the transfer film 46, the transfer film 46 is once fed from the supply spool 47A to the take-up spool 48A side, and the image is formed while the transfer film 46 is taken up by the supply spool 47A. Perform processing and transfer processing.

The film transfer roller 49 is a main drive roller that transfers the transfer film 46, and by controlling the drive of the film transfer roller 49, the transfer amount and the transfer stop position of the transfer film 46 are determined. The film transfer roller 49 is connected to a film transfer motor Mr5 (stepping motor) capable of forward and reverse rotation. The motors Mr2 and Mr4 are also driven when the film transfer roller 49 is driven, but the transfer film 46 unwound from either the supply roll 47 or the take-up roll 48 is wound on the other and transferred to the transfer film 46. It is for applying tension and serves as an auxiliary function of film transport.

A pinch roller 32a and a pinch roller 32b are arranged on the peripheral surface of the film transport roller 49. The pinch rollers 32a and 32b are configured to be able to advance and retreat with respect to the film transfer roller 49. In FIG. 2, the pinch rollers 32a and 32b advance to the film transfer roller 49 side, and the transfer film 46 moves to the film transfer roller 49. The state of being wrapped around is shown. As a result, the transfer film 46 is accurately transported at a distance corresponding to the rotation speed of the film transport roller 49.

Therefore, the film transport mechanism 10 supplies the transfer film 46 by driving the film transport roller 49 of the main drive roller arranged between the image forming unit B1 and the transfer unit B2, thereby supplying the transfer film 46 to the image forming unit B1 and the image forming unit B1. The images are conveyed in the forward and reverse directions between the transfer unit B2 and the take-up roll 48, and the images formed in the image formation region and the image formation region of the transfer film 46 in the image formation unit B1 and the transfer unit B2 are positioned at appropriate positions (cueing). It has a function. Further, the sensor Se1 which has a light emitting element and a light receiving element between the winding roll 48 and the image forming unit B1 (thermal head 40, platen roller 45) and detects a mark formed on the transfer film 46 described above. Is placed.

On the other hand, the ink ribbon 41 is housed in the ink ribbon cassette 42, and is housed in a stretched state between the supply roll 43 for supplying the ink ribbon 41 to the cassette 42 and the winding roll 44 for winding the ink ribbon 41. Has been done. A take-up spool 44A is arranged at the center of the take-up roll 44, and a supply spool 43A is arranged at the center of the supply roll 43. The take-up spool 44A is rotated by the driving force of the motor Mr1, and the supply spool 43A is the motor Mr3. It rotates with the driving force. A DC motor capable of forward and reverse rotation is used for the motor Mr1 and the motor Mr3.

The ink ribbon 41 is formed by repeating a Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) color ribbon panel and a Bk (black) ribbon panel in a surface-sequential manner in the longitudinal direction. Further, between the supply roll 43 and the image forming unit B1 (thermal head 40, platen roller 45), the light from the light emitting element side is blocked by the Bk ribbon panel on the light receiving element side, so that the position of the ink ribbon 41 is located. A sensor Se2 for detecting and cueing the ink ribbon 41 to the image forming unit B1 is arranged.

The platen roller 45 and the thermal head 40 form an image forming portion B1, and the thermal head 40 is arranged at a position facing the platen roller 45. At the time of image formation, the platen roller 45 is pressed against the thermal head 40 via the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41. The thermal head 40 has a plurality of heating elements arranged in a row in the main scanning direction, and these heating elements are selectively heated and controlled based on print data by a head control IC (not shown), and an ink ribbon is used. An image is formed on the transfer film 46 via 41. The cooling fan 39 is for cooling the thermal head 40.

The ink ribbon 41 for which the image formation on the transfer film 46 has been completed is peeled off from the transfer film 46 by the peeling roller 25 and the peeling member 28. The peeling member 28 is fixed to the ink ribbon cassette 42, and the peeling roller 25 comes into contact with the peeling member 28 at the time of image formation, and the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41 are sandwiched between the peeling members 28 to perform the peeling. Then, the peeled ink ribbon 41 is wound by the winding roll 44 by the driving force of the motor Mr1, and the transfer film 46 is conveyed to the transfer portion B2 having the platen roller 31 and the heat roller 33 by the film transfer mechanism 10. NS.

A sensor Se3 for detecting a mark formed on the transfer film 46 is arranged on the downstream side of the film transport roller 49. Taking this mark detection as an opportunity, the image of the transfer film 46 is formed by starting the transfer of the card Ca, which is sandwiched between the transfer rollers 29 and 30 on the medium transfer path P1 and is stopped (standby), toward the transfer unit B2. The forming region and the card Ca reach the transfer portion B2 at the same time. A transmission-integrated sensor is used for the sensor Se3.

In the transfer unit B2, the transfer film 46 is sandwiched between the heat roller 33 and the platen roller 31 together with the card Ca, and the image formed in the image forming region of the transfer film 46 is transferred to the surface of the card Ca. That is, at the time of transfer, the heat roller 33 is pressed against the platen roller 31 via the card Ca and the transfer film 46 (the image forming region), and the card Ca and the transfer film 46 are conveyed in the same direction at the same speed. The heat roller 33 is attached to an elevating mechanism (not shown) so as to press contact with and separate from the platen roller 31 via a transfer film 46.

The transfer film 46 after image transfer is separated (peeled) from the card Ca by a peeling pin 79 arranged between the heat roller 33 and the driven roller (lower roller in FIG. 2) constituting the transport roller pair 37. It is conveyed to the supply roll 47 side. On the other hand, the card Ca on which the image is transferred is transported on the medium transport path P2 toward the decal mechanism G on the downstream side.

In the above description, the ink ribbon 41 for color printing in which the Y, M, C, and Bk ribbon panels are repeated in a surface-sequential manner has been illustrated, but the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment also includes a single-color ink ribbon having only a Bk ribbon panel. It can be used, in which case the card Ca is printed in a single color.

(5) Decal mechanism G
As shown in FIG. 2, on the downstream side of the transfer unit B2, a substantially horizontal medium transport path P2 for transporting the printed card Ca to the storage stacker 60 is provided on the extension line of the medium transport path P1. There is. Transfer rollers 37, 38 for transporting the card Ca are arranged in the medium transport path P2, and the transport rollers 37, 38 are connected to the second card transport motor described above via a gear (not shown) or the like. .. Each roller pair (including the platen roller 31) from the transfer roller pair 29 to the transfer roller pair 38 arranged on the medium transfer paths P1 and P2 is rotationally driven by the driving force of the second card transfer motor. NS.

The transport roller pairs 37 and 38 form a part of the decal mechanism G. The decal mechanism G has a concave decal unit 35 whose position is fixed by pressing the central portion of the card Ca whose both ends are sandwiched (nipped) by the transport rollers 37 and 38 with the downward convex decal unit 34. By sandwiching the card Ca between them, the warp generated in the card Ca due to the thermal transfer by the heat roller 33 is corrected. The decal mechanism G is configured to include the eccentric cam 36 so that the decal unit 34 can move forward and backward in the vertical direction shown in FIG.

(6) Medium storage unit D
The medium accommodating portion D is configured to accommodate the card Ca conveyed from the decal mechanism G side in the accommodating stacker 60. That is, the accommodating stacker 60 is configured to move downward in FIG. 2 by the elevating mechanism 61.

1-2-2. Control unit and power supply unit Next, the control unit and power supply unit of the printing apparatus 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the printing device 1 includes a control unit 70 that controls the operation of the entire printing device 1, and a power supply unit that converts commercial AC power into DC power that can drive / operate each mechanism unit and control unit. Has 80 and.

(1) Control Unit As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 70 has a microcomputer unit 72 (hereinafter, abbreviated as MCU 72) that performs overall control processing of the printing apparatus 1. The MCU 72 is composed of a CPU that operates with a high-speed clock as a central processing unit, a ROM that stores programs and program data of the printing device 1, a RAM that works as a work area of the CPU, and an internal bus that connects them.

An external bus is connected to the MCU 72. The external bus has a communication unit 71 that has a communication IC and communicates with the host device 101, print data for which an image should be formed on the card Ca, magnetic stripes on the card Ca, and magnetically or electrically recorded on the accommodating IC. A memory 77 for temporarily storing power recording data and the like is connected.

Further, the external bus includes a signal processing unit 73 that processes signals from the various sensors described above, an actuator control unit 74 that includes a motor driver that supplies drive pulses and drive power to each motor, and heating that constitutes the thermal head 40. A thermal head control unit 75 for controlling the thermal energy to the element, an operation display control unit 76 for controlling the operation panel unit 5, a buzzer operation circuit 78 for operating the buzzer 5 at the time of double feeding of the card Ca, and the like. The information recording unit A described above is connected.

(2) Power supply unit The power supply unit 80 supplies operating / driving power to the control unit 70, the thermal head 40, the heat roller 33, the operation panel unit 5, the information recording unit A, and the like.

2. Operation Next, the overall operation of the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described mainly by the CPU of the MCU 72 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a CPU).

When the power is turned on to the printing device 1, each member constituting the printing device 1 is positioned at the home (initial) position (for example, the state shown in FIG. 2), and the program and program data stored in the ROM are expanded into the RAM. Initial setting processing is performed.

When the CPU receives a print command via the operation panel unit 5 (operation display control unit 76) or the communication unit 71, the CPU executes the card issuing routine shown in FIG. 7. For the sake of simplicity, in the following, it is assumed that the print data or the like has been received from the higher-level device 101, that is, the CPU is one-sided (in the case of single-sided printing) or one-sided and the other side from the higher-level device 101. It will be described as assuming that the side (in the case of double-sided printing) print data (Bk print data, Y, M, C color component print data) and magnetic or electrical recording data are received and stored in the memory 77. Moreover, since the operation of the printing unit B (image forming unit B1 and transfer unit B2) has already been described, it will be briefly described in order to avoid duplication.

2-1. Printing operation on one side of the card As shown in FIG. 7, in the card issuing routine, in step 202 (hereinafter, abbreviated as “S”) 202, the image forming unit B1 is placed on one side (for example, the front side) of the transfer film 46. Performs a primary transfer process (image formation process) to form a side image (mirror image). That is, by controlling the thermal head 40 of the image forming unit B1 based on the color component print data of Y, M, and C and the print data of Bk stored in the memory 77, the ink ribbon is formed in the image forming region of the transfer film 46. Images of 41 Y, M, C and Bk inks are superimposed and formed.

In parallel with the primary transfer process in S202, the CPU executes the card supply process in S204. In this card supply process, (1) a supply process for feeding out the card Ca from the medium supply unit C and transporting it to the information recording unit A, and (2) one or more of the information recording units A magnetically attach the card Ca to the card Ca. Alternatively, the recording process for recording the electrically recorded data, and (3) the transport process for transporting the recorded card Ca toward the medium transport path P1 (convey roller pairs 29, 30) are included.

(1) Supply processing (1-1) Rotation in the card receiving position FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a supply processing subroutine showing details of (1) supply processing. In the supply processing subroutine, first, in S302, it is determined whether or not the sensor SN24 is in the ON state (card detection state). As shown in FIG. 4, the cards Ca are aligned and housed in the medium supply unit C in a standing position. For example, an operator who is not accustomed to the operation mistakenly prints the card Ca in the front row of the medium supply unit C from above. It may be pushed into the main body of the device 1. Including such a case, when the sensor SN24 is in the ON state, it indicates that some object exists in the sensor SN24.

When the affirmative judgment is made in S302, the process proceeds to S344, and when the negative judgment is made in S302, the rotary motor is driven via the actuator control unit 74 in the next S304 with reference to the output of the second phase sensor described above. , The roller pairs 20 and 21 constituting the rotation unit F are controlled so as to be positioned in the initial position direction. In the present embodiment, the initial position direction is set to the direction in which the roller pairs 20 and 21 are positioned horizontally (the state shown in FIG. 2).

Subsequently, in S306, the rotation motor is driven to control the roller pairs 20 and 21 constituting the rotation unit F so as to be positioned in the card receiving position direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the card receiving position direction is set in the direction rotated by 10 ° from the rotation center O with reference to the vertical line (solid line) in FIG. Therefore, in S306, the roller pairs 20 and 21 in the initial position direction of 90 ° with reference to the vertical line of FIG. 4 in S304 are rotated by 80 ° in the counterclockwise direction (CCW).

(1-2) Card feeding In the next S308, the pickup motor and the first card transfer motor are driven via the actuator control unit 74. As a result, the cards Ca in the front row of the medium supply unit C are fed out from the medium supply unit C by rotating the pickup roller 19, and are conveyed toward the rotation unit F via the cleaning roller 22. The pickup motor stops driving after the sensor SN24 detects the rear end of the card Ca, but the first card transport motor continues to drive even after the pickup motor is stopped because the card Ca is transported to the rotation unit F. (Cleaning rollers 22, roller pairs 20, 21 continue to rotate).

(1-3) Card end detection Next, in S310, it is determined whether or not the sensor SN2 has detected the rear end of the card Ca being conveyed. In the case of a negative determination, in S312, it is determined whether or not the on state continues for a predetermined time or longer (whether or not the card Ca has been transported by a predetermined length or longer) after the sensor SN2 detects the tip of the card Ca. .. In such a determination, for example, the number of drive pulses output from the actuator control unit 74 to the first card transfer motor is counted from the time when the sensor SN2 detects the tip of the card Ca, and the counted number of drive pulses is a predetermined pulse. This can be done by determining whether or not the number has been reached.

In the present embodiment, the CPU conveys the card Ca {85.6 mm (standard length of the card Ca) + 28.0 mm (double feed threshold)} = 113.6 mm from the time when the sensor SN2 detects the tip of the card Ca. When the number of drive pulses to be performed is counted, it is considered that the card Ca has been double-fed, and an affirmative judgment is made in S312. In this case, the process proceeds to S344. If a negative determination is made in S312, the process returns to S310 in order to continue the transportation of the card Ca.

On the other hand, when a positive judgment is made in S310, counting of the number of drive pulses output from the actuator control unit 74 to the first card transfer motor is started in S313. FIG. 9A shows a state in which the two double feed cards are accepted by the rotating unit F (roller pairs 20, 21) after the count of the number of drive pulses is started in S313.

In the next S314, it is determined whether or not the sensor SN26 has detected the tip of the card Ca being conveyed. When a negative judgment is made, the actuator control unit 74 continues counting the number of drive pulses output from the actuator control unit 74 to the first card transfer motor in S316 and returns to S314. When a positive judgment is made, in the next S318, the first card transfer motor The drive of the card is stopped, the count of the number of drive pulses is completed, and the card transfer length Ld is calculated. FIG. 9B shows a state in which the sensor SN26 detects the tip of the double feed card.

(1-4) Double feed determination FIG. 13 shows the output of the sensor SN2 for detecting the front end of the card Ca, the sensor SN26 for detecting the rear end, and the drive pulse output from the actuator control unit 74 to the first card transfer motor. It shows the relationship between. The number of pulses at the time when the count of the number of drive pulses is completed in S318 is Np. The first card transfer motor is a stepping motor (pulse motor), and the card transfer length (transport distance) of the card Ca transported in one pulse is set in advance. Therefore, by grasping the number of pulses Np, the card transport length Ld of the card Ca can be grasped.

As described with reference to FIG. 5, the sensing position of the sensor SN2 and the sensing position of the sensor SN26 are separated by a linear distance of 107 mm. The standard length of the card Ca is set to 85.6 mm as described above. Therefore, the standard length card Ca is conveyed by (107 mm-85.6 mm) = 21.4 mm between the time when the sensor SN2 detects the rear end of the card and the time when the sensor SN26 detects the tip of the card.

As shown in FIG. 9B, in the case of two double feed cards, the length between the front end and the rear end of the double feed card is larger than that of one card Ca having a standard length. Therefore, since the tip of the card Ca reaches the sensor SN26 earlier than when one card Ca is normally transported, the card transport of the double feed card until the tip is detected by the sensor SN26 after the rear end is detected by the sensor SN2. The length Ld becomes smaller. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, with respect to the number of pulses Np, the reference pulse number in the case of one card Ca having a standard length (the drive pulse of the first card transfer motor when the card Ca is conveyed by 21.4 mm). If the number) is set in advance, the card transport length Ld of the double feed card can be grasped by how many pulses are smaller than the reference pulse number.

Table 1 below shows the card transport length Ld, the card length Lc, the difference Ds from the standard length (85.6 mm) in the present embodiment, and whether or not the card can be rotated when the card is sandwiched between the rollers 20 and 21. It shows the relationship between. In this embodiment, an allowance of ± 1 mm is provided with respect to the standard length of the card Ca in consideration of mounting error of each sensor, expansion and contraction of the card Ca due to the atmospheric temperature, and the like.

In the next S320, it is determined whether or not the card transfer length Ld is smaller than the preset length L1. This length L1 is set to 20.4 mm (see Table 1). That is, the card transport length Ld is 21.4 mm when the standard length card Ca is normally transported by one card without being double-fed, but considering the above-mentioned ± 1 mm allowance, the lower limit The card transport length Ld on the side is 20.4 mm, and the card transport length Ld on the upper limit side is 22.4 mm. Therefore, when the card transport length Ld is in the range of 20.4 mm ≦ the card transport length Ld ≦ 22.4 mm, the CPU determines that the card Ca is not double-fed and is normally transported.

In S320, the reason why the judgment is made only on the lower limit side (L1 = 20.4 mm) is that the rollers 20 and 21 may slip with respect to the card Ca, but the upper limit side (22.4 mm). But you may decide. At that time, it is not always necessary to end the supply processing subroutine as a double feed error. For example, when the card transfer length Ld exceeds 22.4 mm, the operation panel section 5 is displayed to prompt the cleaning of the transfer rollers 20 and 21. You may do so.

When a negative judgment is made in S320 (card transport length Ld ≥ 20.4 mm), the card Ca is normally transported without being double-fed. Therefore, in S322, the center of the card Ca rotates according to the card transport length Ld. The first card transfer motor is reversely driven so as to be positioned at the center O (so that the distances from the center of the card Ca to the card holding positions of the rollers 20 and 21 are equal), and then the drive is stopped. This state is the same as the state shown in FIG.

In the next S324, in order to convey the card Ca to the desired information recording unit A side, the rotation motor is driven via the actuator control unit 74 (the rotation unit F is rotated by sandwiching the card Ca). At that time, the first card transfer motor is also driven in order to prevent the above-mentioned rotation.) At this time, when the information recording unit A does not care about the front and back surfaces of the card Ca (for example, the non-contact type IC recording unit 23), the information recording unit A is rotated in a direction in which the time required for rotation is short (for example, a counterclockwise direction). .. Subsequently, in S326, the first card transfer motor is driven in the forward or reverse direction to transfer the card Ca toward the desired information recording unit A, end the supply processing subroutine, and execute the recording process described later.

On the other hand, when a positive judgment is made in S320 (card transport length Ld <20.4 mm), it is considered that the card has been double-fed (or a non-standard card has been mixed), but at that time, the jam is released by the operator. The processing is performed to reduce the complexity of the above (improve the operability (jam release property) at the time of jam release) (the same applies to the affirmative judgment in S302 and S312). In the present embodiment, the main error ejection direction of the double feed card is set to the direction of the reject stacker 54 (the direction of the line connecting the rotation center O and the sensing position of the sensor SN23).

(1-5) Judgment of rotation possibility and error discharge during double feeding As explained with reference to FIG. 5, the distance Da from the first locus Lc1 to the second locus Lc2 is set to 7 mm. The distance Db from the first locus Lc1 to the third locus Lc3 is set to 8 mm. When the center of the double feed card is positioned at the rotation center O, theoretically, until both ends of the double feed card are 7 mm longer than the first locus Lc1 (14 mm in total on both sides) (double feed card). (When both ends fit within the second locus Lc2), the double feed card is rotated in the clockwise (CW) direction or the counterclockwise (CCW) direction from the card receiving position direction without interfering with the sensor SN4, for example. It is possible to position it in the direction of the reject stacker 54, and even if it exceeds that, until both ends of the double feed card are 8 mm longer than the first locus Lc1 (16 mm in total on both sides) (both ends of the double feed card). Is within the third locus Lc3), the double feed card can be rotated from the card receiving position direction to the CW direction and positioned in the direction of the reject stacker 54.

As described above, the allowance is set to ± 1 mm in consideration of the sensor mounting error and the like. Therefore, as shown in Table 1, the CPU has the total length from the first locus Lc1 of the double feed card on both sides. Until it is 12 mm longer (difference from the standard length Ds = 12.0 mm), it can rotate in the CW and CCW directions (see also FIG. 11 (A)), and even if the double feed card exceeds 12 mm in total on both sides, both sides. Until the total length is 14 mm (difference from the standard length Ds = 14.0 mm), it can rotate in the CW direction (see also Fig. 11 (B)). It is determined that it cannot be moved (see also FIG. 11C).

It should be noted that the upper limit side threshold value of the card length Lc and the lower limit side threshold value of the card transport length Ld can be back-calculated based on the value set by the difference Ds from the standard length in relation to whether or not the rotation frame F can be rotated. The lower limit side threshold value of Lc on the card and the upper limit side threshold value of the card transport length Ld are inevitably determined in consideration of continuity). That is, when the card length Lc is in the range of 86.6 mm <Lc ≦ 98.6 mm, it can be rotated in the CW and CCW directions, and the card transport length Ld at that time is 8.4 mm ≦ Ld <20. The range is 4 mm. Further, when the card length Lc is in the range of 98.6 mm <Lc ≦ 100.6 mm, it can rotate only in the CW direction, and the card transport length Ld at that time is 6.4 mm ≦ Ld <8.4 mm. Is in the range of. When the card length Lc exceeds 100.6 mm, rotation is not possible, and the card transport length Ld is shorter than 6.4 mm. Table 1 summarizes these relationships.

Based on the above, in S328 of FIG. 8, it is determined from the card transport length Ld (pulse number Np) whether or not the double feed card can be rotated in the CCW direction. It should be noted that the CPU does not necessarily have to calculate the card transfer length Ld in S318 (in S318, the concept of the card transfer length Ld was introduced in order to promote understanding. The above-mentioned S320, this S328, and S336 described later. The same applies to the judgment in (1), the relational data (for example, the relational table) between the number of pulses Np shown in FIG. 13 and the possibility of rotation shown in Table 1 and the above-mentioned reference pulse number data are stored in the ROM. Therefore, it is possible to directly determine whether or not rotation is possible from the number of pulses Np. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the CPU directly determines whether or not rotation is possible from the number of pulses Np.

When a positive judgment is made in S328, the center of the double feed card is positioned at the rotation center O in S330 (see FIG. 9C), and in the next S332, the double feed card is moved in the CCW direction in the direction of the reject stacker 54 (65). °) Rotate (see FIG. 10A), rotate the rollers 20, 21 in S334 to eject the double feed card to the reject stacker 54 (see FIG. 10B), and proceed to S335. The CPU confirms that the double feed card has been ejected to the reject stacker 54 by detecting the rear end of the sensor SN23.

On the other hand, when a negative determination is made in S328, it is determined in S336 whether or not the double feed card can be rotated in the CW direction from the card transport length Ld (pulse number Np). When a positive judgment is made in S336, the center of the double feed card is positioned at the rotation center O in S338 (see FIG. 9C), and in the next S340, the double feed card is moved in the CW direction in the direction of the reject stacker 54 (115). °) Rotate (see FIG. 10 (A), but the state of FIG. 10 (A) in S332 in that the roller pair 20 is positioned on the sensor SN23 side and the vertical positions of the two double feed cards are opposite. In S342, the rollers 20 and 21 are rotated to eject the double feed card to the reject stacker 54 (see FIG. 10B, but the first card transfer motor is driven in the normal direction to drive the heavy feed card. It differs from the state of FIG. 10B in S334 in that the sending card is ejected), and the process proceeds to S335. In S328 and S336, the CCW direction is determined before the CW direction because the rotation angle from the card receiving position direction to the reject stacker 54 direction is small and the processing time can be shortened.

(1-6) Discharge of double feed card when rotation is not possible In the printing device 1 of the present embodiment, when the double feed card is sandwiched between the rollers 20 and 21, the rotation unit F is rotated and arranged around the printing apparatus 1. In case of non-rotation that interferes with the sensor, the mode in which the double feed card is sent back to the medium supply unit C side (upstream side) without rotating the rotation frame F is set by the operator in the operation panel unit 5 (or higher level). It can be selected via the device 101). In the following, it is assumed that the operator has selected this mode in advance.

(A) When a negative judgment is made in S336 (when the card transfer length Ld is smaller than the preset length L2 (7.4 mm)), (b) When a positive judgment is made in S302, and (c) When a positive judgment is made in S312. In S344, it is determined whether or not the feedback mode for sending back the double feed card back to the medium supply unit C side without rotating the rotating frame F is selected, and in the case of a negative determination, the process proceeds to S352. On the other hand, when a positive judgment is made in S344, in the next S346, the medium supply unit C (card cassette) moves from the cassette mounting area 68 with reference to the output of the sensor lever 69 (see FIG. 3) via the signal processing unit 73. Determine if it has been removed, that is, if the card is in an undetected state.

When a negative determination is made in S346, a display requesting the operation panel unit 5 (monitor 102 connected to the host device 101 via the communication unit 71) to remove the card cassette is displayed in S348 via the operation display control unit 76. Go back to S346 (in the negative judgment in S346 and the loop in S348, the buzzer operation circuit 78 is operated for a predetermined time to alert the operator with a warning sound by the buzzer 6), and in the case of a positive judgment in S346, S350. The first card transfer motor is reversely driven to feed the double feed card back to the medium supply unit C side, and the process proceeds to S354. Note that FIG. 12 shows a state in which the double feed card is sent back to the medium supply unit C side in S350.

(1-7) Jam release property In any of the above-mentioned S335, S352, and S354, the CPU displays an error on the operation panel unit 5 (monitor 102), and the operator takes action according to the display or the like. The degree of complexity of is different as follows.

(A) In S352, the buzzer 6 is operated for a predetermined time, an error display (a double feed error has occurred and a jam release request display) is displayed on the operation panel unit 5, and a supply processing subroutine (and a card issuance routine) is performed (and a card issuance routine). Abnormal) Exit.

The operator removes the medium supply unit C from the cassette mounting area 68, opens the front door 12 and the opening / closing member 66, and then manually turns the jam release dial to release the jam by the double feed card (conventional jam release). conduct.). When the front door 12 is opened, in principle, the supply of commercial AC power to the power supply unit 80 is stopped in order to ensure the safety of the operator. When the jam is released, the operator closes the front door 12, closes the opening / closing member 66, attaches the medium supply unit C again, returns the printing device 1 to the original state, and then re-energizes the printing device 1. Then, after the above-mentioned initial setting process, the print data and the magnetic or electrical recording data are transmitted from the host device 101 to the print device 1 (memory 77) again. Therefore, after the jam corresponding to S352 is released, the initial setting process is restarted.

(B) In S354, the buzzer 6 is operated so as to make a (guidance) sound different from the warning sound in S348, and a double feed error occurs in the operation panel 5 (monitor 102) and the double feed card is sent back. Indicates that has been completed and terminates the supply processing subroutine (and card issuing routine) (abnormally). After removing the medium supply unit C from the cassette mounting area 68, the operator releases the jam by removing the double feed card sent back in S350 from the upper side of the printing device 1, closes the opening / closing member 66 again, and closes the medium. The supply unit C is attached.

(C) In S335, the operation panel unit 5 (monitor 102) indicates that a double feed error has occurred and the double feed card has been ejected to the reject stacker 54 (the buzzer 6 is not activated), and the supply processing subroutine is displayed. (And card issuing routine) is (abnormally) terminated. That is, since the double feed card has already been ejected to the reject stacker 54, the operator does not need to release the jam.

Since the card supply process (S204) is executed in parallel with the primary transfer process (S202) in the card issuing routine (see FIG. 7), the CPU decides to grasp the double feed error during the primary transfer process. Become. When the CPU grasps the double feed error, the CPU immediately stops the image formation in the image forming region in the image forming unit B1 and ends the card issuing routine. Then, when the card issuing routine is executed again (from the beginning), the image forming area is treated as used. Exceptionally, when the affirmative judgment is made in S302, the transfer film 46 is being conveyed (during cueing) before the platen roller 45 is pressed against the thermal head 40, that is, before the image is formed in the image forming region. , When the card issuing routine is executed again, the image forming area is treated as unused.

Therefore, when the jam release properties required in S335, S352, and S354 are compared, the jam release properties are reduced in the order of S335, S354, and S352, and the complexity of jam release by the operator can be reduced.

(2) Recording process The CPU executes (2) recording processing when (1) supply processing is completed normally. In this recording process, the desired information recording unit A outputs the magnetic or electrical recording data to be recorded, and the card Ca records the data. After this recording, the first card transfer motor is driven to transfer the card Ca so that the center of the card Ca is positioned at the rotation center O, and then it is determined whether or not there is a desired information recording unit A. When a positive judgment is made, the rotation unit F is rotated in the direction of the information recording unit, and the same processing as that of the information recording unit A desired first is performed. When a negative judgment is made, the recording process is terminated.

The information recording unit A reads the data recorded on the card Ca and compares it with the data to be recorded, that is, verifies it. However, in the present embodiment, if the data cannot be verified three times in a row, something is done on the card Ca. It is considered that there is a recording obstruction factor, and the card is ejected to the reject stacker 54 with an error. At that time, since the card supply process (S204) is executed in parallel with the primary transfer process (S202), the CPU forms an image in the image forming region in the image forming unit B1 as in the case of the double feed error. Immediately stop and end the card issuing routine. Then, when the card issuing routine is executed again, the image forming area is treated as used.

(3) Transport processing The CPU executes (3) transport processing when (2) recording processing is completed. In the transport process, the card Ca is received from the information recording unit A that has undergone the recording process last, and the first card transport motor is driven to transport the card Ca so that the center of the card Ca is positioned at the rotation center O, and then the card Ca is rotated. After driving the motor to rotate the rotation unit F so that the card Ca is positioned in the medium transfer path P1, the first and second card transfer motors are driven to transfer the card Ca to the transfer rollers 29, 30. Transport towards.

When the sensor SN3 detects the rear end of the card Ca, the CPU stops driving the first card transfer motor, and after the sensor SN3 detects the rear end of the card Ca, the CPU still drives the second card transfer motor by a predetermined number of pulses. The drive of the second card transfer motor is stopped. As a result, both ends of the card Ca are sandwiched between the transport rollers 29 and 30. The CPU keeps the card Ca until the sensor Se3 detects the mark formed on the transfer film 46 so that the card Ca and the image formed in the image forming region of the transfer film 46 arrive at the transfer unit B2 in synchronization with each other. When the transfer rollers 29 and 30 stand by in a sandwiched state and the sensor Se3 detects the mark, the second card transfer motor is driven again to transfer the card Ca toward the transfer unit B2.

Returning to FIG. 7, in S206, the transfer unit B2 performs a secondary transfer process of transferring the image formed on the transfer surface of the transfer film 46 to one surface of the card Ca. Prior to this secondary transfer process, the CPU controls the temperature of the heaters constituting the heat roller 33 so that the temperature reaches a predetermined temperature.

The transfer film 46 after the secondary transfer treatment is separated (peeled) from the card Ca by a peeling pin 79 arranged between the heat roller 33 and the transfer roller pair 37, and is conveyed to the supply roll 47 side. On the other hand, the card Ca on which the image is transferred is transported on the medium transport path P2 toward the decal mechanism G on the downstream side. The CPU still drives the second card transfer motor and stops driving the second card transfer motor after the rear end of the card Ca has passed the release pin 79 (see FIG. 2). As a result, both ends of the card Ca are sandwiched between the transport rollers 37 and 38.

In the next S208, the decal process for correcting the warp generated in the card Ca is executed by rotating the eccentric cam 36 and pushing down the decal unit 34 toward the decal unit 35 and sandwiching the card Ca between the decal units 34 and 35. Proceed to S210.

2-2. Printing operation on the other side of the card Next, in S210, it is determined whether or not double-sided printing is performed, and if a negative judgment is made, the process proceeds to S220. In the image forming region next to S202, a primary transfer process for forming an image (mirror image) on the other side (for example, the back surface) side is performed in the same manner as in S202, and the process proceeds to S216.

In parallel with the primary transfer process in S212, the CPU rotates the card Ca sandwiched between the transfer rollers 37 and 38 and positioned in the decal mechanism G in S214 via the medium transfer paths P2 and P1. The card Ca is conveyed to F, and the card Ca sandwiched between the rollers 20 and 21 at both ends is rotated by 180 ° (the front and back surfaces are reversed), and then the card Ca is conveyed toward the transfer rollers 29 and 30. In the next S216, similarly to S206, the transfer unit B2 performs a secondary transfer process of transferring the image formed in the next image forming region of the transfer film 46 to the other surface of the card Ca.

Next, in S218, a decal process for correcting the warp generated in the card Ca is executed in the same manner as in S208. Then, in the next S220, the card Ca is ejected toward the accommodation stacker 60 to end the card issuing routine.

3. 3. Effects and the like Next, the effects and the like of the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

3-1. Effect In the printing device 1 of the present embodiment, when the card transport length Ld is smaller than the length L1 (20.4 mm) (affirmative judgment in S320), is it possible to position the card Ca in a direction in which the card Ca can be taken out from the rotating unit F? (S328, S336), and when it is determined that it is possible, the rotation unit F is rotated so that the card Ca is positioned at a position where it can be taken out, and the rollers 20 and 21 are driven. Operability (jam release) can be improved.

Further, in the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, when it is determined that the printing apparatus 1 is rotatable, it is determined whether the printing apparatus 1 is rotatable in at least one of the CW and CCW directions in the error discharge direction (S328, S336). Therefore, the rotatable range can be expanded. Further, when the rotation is possible in both directions, the rotation is performed in the direction in which the angle until the rotation is in the error discharge direction is smaller, so that the processing time required for the rotation can be shortened.

Further, in the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, since the center of the (double feed) card sandwiched between the roller pairs 20 and 21 rotates around the rotation center O of the rotation unit F, the rotatable range Can be expanded.

Further, in the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the double feed card is conveyed in the direction of the reject stacker 54 when it is rotatable, and to the medium supply unit C side when it is not rotatable. Therefore, it is possible to improve the jam release property of the operator as compared with the conventional jam release using the jam release dial.

Further, in the printing device 1 of the present embodiment, the rear end of the card Ca transported by the sensor SN2 arranged on the upstream side of the rotating unit F in the card transport direction is detected, and the downstream side of the rotating unit F in the card transport direction. Since the card transport length Lc is detected by detecting the tip of the card Ca transported by the sensor SN26 arranged on the card transport length Lc, the detection accuracy of the card transport length Lc can be improved.

3-2. Modifications In the present embodiment, the direction of the reject stacker 54 and the direction of the medium supply unit C are exemplified as the directions in which the card Ca can be taken out, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Further, it is not always necessary to discharge the product to the reject stacker 54 from a position where it can be taken out.

For example, as shown in FIG. 14A, the double feed card is held by the roller pairs 20 or 21 located near the sensor SN23 without ejecting the double feed card to the reject stacker 54. You may. If it is stopped in this state, the operator only has to pull out the double feed card from the rollers 20 or 21, which improves the jam release property and also causes an error card (recording obstruction factor in the information recording unit A) in the reject stacker 54. It is possible to prevent a mixture of (cards deemed to be present) and (reusable) double-feed cards.

From the viewpoint of preventing mixing, another stacker that receives the double feed card is mounted on the hound jig 2 above the reject stacker 54, and the double feed card is horizontally mounted from the roller vs. 20 side shown in FIG. 2 to the other stacker. It may be discharged to. In this case, a sensor may be provided to detect the rear end of the double feed card and confirm that it has been discharged to another stacker, and in order to prevent dust and the like from entering the housing 2, the housing 2 may be provided. A plate-shaped member or the like that closes the discharge port formed in the above may be driven by, for example, an electromagnetic solenoid or a minimotor so that the discharge port can be opened and closed.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the three recording units constituting the information recording unit A are optional, when the non-contact type IC recording unit 23 cannot be attached, as shown in FIG. 14 (B). , The double feed card may be sandwiched between rollers 20 or 21 in a cantilevered state. In this case, the jam can be easily released from above by opening the upper surface cover 67 of the opening / closing member 66. In the configuration in which the non-contact IC recording unit 23 is built in the opening / closing member 66, even if the non-contact IC recording unit 23 is attached, the jam can be easily released from above by opening the top cover 67. can.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14C, even if the double feed card is held between the transfer rollers 29 and 30 and stopped, the operator can easily access the double feed card, so that the inside of the rotating unit F Jam release is better than keeping it at. Further, it may be conveyed to the medium accommodating portion D.

Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the sensor SN2 and the sensor SN26 are used to detect the card carrying length Ld has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the front end and the rear end of the card Ca may be detected only by the sensor SN2, and the card transport length Ld may be detected. In this case, the cleaning roller 22 may be affected by dust adhesion. Therefore, for example, a transport roller pair is newly provided between the cleaning roller 22 shown in FIG. 4 and the sensor SN2, and the transport roller pair is provided. 1 It may be rotated by the driving force of the card transfer motor and used as the main roller for card transfer to the rotation unit F.

In this case, when the card transport length Ld is larger than the predetermined length L1, it is determined that the card is a double feed card or a nonstandard long card. Specifically, the drive amount (card transport length Ld) of the transport roller from the time when the front end of the card passes through the sensor SN2 to the time when the rear end of the card passes through the sensor SN2 is detected, and the card transport length Ld is the reference for the card Ca. If it is larger than the length (85.6 mm), it is judged to be double feed. At this time, if the card transport length Ld is in the range of 84.6 mm ≦ card transport length Ld ≦ 86.6 mm, it is determined that the card Ca is normally transported without being double-fed. Further, when the card transport length Ld is in the range of 86.6 mm <card transport length Ld ≦ 98.6 mm, it is determined that the card Ca is double-feeding, but the rotating unit F is in both the CW and CCW directions. Judged to be rotatable. Further, when the card transport length Ld is in the range of 98.6 mm <card transport length Ld ≦ 100.6 mm, it is determined that the rotation unit F can rotate only in the CW direction. Then, when the card transport length Ld is in a range larger than 100.6, it is determined that the rotation unit F cannot rotate. Since the operation after making the above determination is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

Further, in the present embodiment, the rotation unit F is illustrated as a direction changing means for changing the transport direction of the card Ca, but the present invention is a direction changing means having a rotation angle of less than 180 ° as in Patent Document 3. Needless to say, it is also applicable.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, an indirect printing type printing apparatus (image forming apparatus) has been exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to a direct printing type printing apparatus. Further, in the present embodiment, the example in which the platen roller 45 is pressed against the thermal head 40 in the image forming portion B1 is shown, but the thermal head 40 may be pressed against the platen roller 45. At that time, the platen does not have to be the illustrated roller, but it is preferable that the platen does not affect the transfer of the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41. Further, in the present embodiment, although the example in which the heat roller 33 is pressed against the platen roller 31 in the transfer unit B2 is shown, the platen roller 31 may be pressed against the heat roller 33.

Further, in the present embodiment, the image forming unit B1 forms an image on one side of the card Ca in the image forming region of the transfer film 46 (S202), and the transfer unit B2 transfers the image to one side of the card Ca (S206). Later, in the image forming unit B1, in parallel with the image forming (S212) on the other side of the transfer film 46 to the next image forming region, the card Ca is conveyed to the rotating unit F side and the card Ca is rotated 180 °. (S214), an example is shown in which the image on the other side is transferred to the other surface of the card Ca in the transfer unit B2 (S216). After forming the image of, the image on the other side is formed in the next image forming region of the transfer film 46, the image is transferred to one side of the card Ca in the transfer unit B2, and then the card Ca is moved to the rotation unit F side. The card Ca may be rotated by 180 ° to transfer the image on the other side to the other side of the card Ca.

Then, in the present embodiment, an example of receiving print data or magnetically or electrically recorded data from the host device 101 has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the printing device 1 constitutes a member of the local network, input may be performed from a computer connected to the local network other than the host device 101. Further, the magnetically or electrically recorded data may be input from the operation panel unit 5. Further, when the printing device 1 is configured to be connectable to an external storage device such as a USB or a memory card, print data or magnetic or electrical recording data can be acquired by reading the information stored in the external storage device. Can be done. Further, instead of the print data (Bk print data, Y, M, C color component print data), image data (Bk image data, R, G, B color component image data) is received from the host device 101. You may do so. In this case, the image data received on the printing device 1 side may be converted into print data.

As described above, since the present invention provides a medium transfer device capable of improving operability when a jam occurs and an image forming device provided with the medium transfer device, the medium transfer device and the image forming device are manufactured. , Contributes to sales, so has industrial applicability.

1 Printing device (image forming device)
20, 21 roller pairs (part of transport means)
22 Cleaning roller (part of transport means)
70 Control unit (control means, part of detection means)
B Printing unit (image forming means)
F rotation unit (direction changing means)
SN2 sensor (part of detection means, first sensor)
SN26 sensor (part of detection means, second sensor)

Claims (11)

A transport means for transporting the medium and
A direction changing means for changing the transport direction of the medium, and
A detection means for detecting the transport length of the medium transported by the transport means, and
Control means for controlling each of the above means and
With
The control means
When the transport length detected by the detection means is different from the predetermined length L1, it is determined whether the medium can be positioned in the error discharge direction.
A medium transport device, characterized in that the direction changing means is controlled so that the medium is positioned in the error discharge direction when it is determined that it is possible. The detection means
The first sensor arranged on the upstream side in the medium transport direction of the direction changing means detects the rear end of the medium transported by the transport means, and the second sensor arranged on the downstream side in the medium transport direction of the direction changing means. The sensor is configured to detect the transport length by detecting the tip of the medium transported by the transport means.
A claim characterized in that, when the transport length detected by the detection means is smaller than a predetermined length L1, it is determined from the direction changing means whether the medium can be positioned in the error discharge direction. Item 2. The medium transfer device according to item 1. The control means determines that it can be positioned in the error discharge direction when the transport length is equal to or longer than a predetermined length L2 (L2 <L1), and when the transport length is smaller than the length L2, The medium transfer device according to claim 2, wherein it is determined that the device cannot be positioned in the error discharge direction. The detecting means detects the transport length by detecting the front end and the rear end of the medium transported by the transport means by a first sensor arranged on the upstream side in the medium transport direction of the direction changing means. Configured
The control means determines whether the medium can be positioned in the error discharge direction from the direction changing means when the transport length detected by the detection means is larger than a predetermined length L1. The medium transfer device according to claim 1. The control means determines that it can be positioned in the error discharge direction when the transport length is equal to or less than a predetermined length L2 (L2> L1), and when the transport length is larger than the length L2, an error occurs. The medium transfer device according to claim 4, wherein it is determined that the position cannot be positioned in the discharge direction. The direction changing means is a rotating body that sandwiches and rotates the medium.
When the control means determines that the position can be positioned in the error discharge direction, the control means controls the transport means so that the center of the transport length is located at the center of rotation of the rotating body, and then the medium moves in the error discharge direction. The medium transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the rotating body is controlled so as to rotate in a manner. The direction changing means is a rotating body that sandwiches and rotates the medium.
When it is determined that the control means cannot be positioned in the error discharge direction, the control means controls the transport means so as to send the medium back to the upstream side of the direction change means without rotating the rotating body. The medium transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the medium transfer device is characterized. The control means is characterized in that when the transport length is different from the length L1, it is determined whether the medium can be rotated in at least one of a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction according to the transport length. The medium transfer device according to claim 6 or 7. A transport means for transporting the medium and
A direction changing means for changing the transport direction of the medium, and
A detection means for detecting the transport length of the medium transported by the transport means, and
A control means for controlling each of the above means is provided.
The detection means detects the rear end of the medium transported by the transport means by the first sensor arranged on the upstream side in the medium transport direction of the direction changing means, and moves to the downstream side in the medium transport direction of the direction changing means. It is configured to detect the transport length by detecting the tip of the medium transported by the transport means by the arranged second sensor.
The control means can determine whether the medium can be positioned in a direction in which the medium can be taken out from the direction changing means when the transport length detected by the detection means is smaller than a predetermined length L1. A medium transporting device, characterized in that the direction changing means is controlled so that the medium is positioned in the direction in which the medium can be taken out when the determination is made. A transport means for transporting the medium and
A direction changing means for changing the transport direction of the medium, which is composed of a rotating body that sandwiches and rotates the medium, and
A detection means for detecting the transport length of the medium transported by the transport means, and
A control means for controlling each of the above means is provided.
When the transport length detected by the detection means is different from the predetermined length L1, the control means determines whether the medium can be positioned in a direction in which the medium can be taken out from the direction changing means, and takes out the medium. When it is determined that the position can be positioned in a possible direction, the transport means is controlled so that the center of the transport length is located at the rotation center of the rotating body, and then the medium rotates in the retrievable direction. A medium transfer device characterized by controlling the rotating body as described above. An image forming means for forming an image on the medium and
The medium transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.
An image forming apparatus equipped with.

Images